STAFF REPORT

December 20, 1999

To: North York Community Council

From: Rob Dolan, Director,Community Planning, North District

Subject: FINAL REPORT
OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING AMENDMENT APPLICATION

V.V. DeMarco Properties Limited

1415 Lawrence Avenue West

North York Humber (Ward 6)

File No. UDOZ-97-35

Purpose:

This report recommends approval of the application to amend the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to permit the development of an 8-storey residential condominium apartment building with ground floor commercial uses at 1415 Lawrence Avenue West.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

All of the costs associated with the processing of this application are included within the 2000 Operating Budget.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that the application be approved subject to the following conditions:

Official Plan:

1. The site's Commercial (COM) Official Plan designation be amended to Arterial Corridor Area and that it be identified as a potential area of reurbanization on Map A2 of the Official Plan.

2. Zoning By-law

The site's C2 (Local Shopping Centre) zoning be amended to C4 exception zone(Mixed Use Commercial Zone)

Exception Regulations:

Permitted Uses

(a) the maximum gross floor area for all uses shall be 15,534 mē;

(b) the commercial uses on the ground floor shall be limited to a maximum gross floor area of 859mē;

(c) the maximum number of dwelling units shall be 138;

(d) the maximum height of the building shall be 8 storeys or 26 metres whichever is less.

(e) the minimum yard setbacks shall be generally consistent with the site plan depicted in Schedule "C";

(f) Parking should be provided in accordance to the parking provisions of By-Law 7625.

7. Prior to the enactment of the Zoning By-law, the Director, Community Planning, North District shall have granted site plan approval;

8. The conditions of the Works and Emergency Services Department, Technical Services, Transportation Services Division, Economic Development Culture and Tourism Department, Policy and Development Division, Fire Services Department, North Command, and the Public Health Department, Health and Environment Division, attached as Schedules "F", "G", "H", "I" and "J" be met; and

9. Prior to the issuance of a Building Permit the applicant shall have submitted a record of Site Condition to the satisfaction of the Medical Officer of Health and the Ministry of the Environment which satisfies the Ministry of the Environment Guidelines for contaminated sites.

Background:

Proposal:

The revised application proposes an amendment to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law to redevelop the site with a 7 and 8 storey 138 unit residential condominium apartment building with ground floor retail commercial uses. The table below compares the revised proposal with the original application.

Previous Applications:

This application is a revision to several previous applications on this site:

· OZ-88-91: A 1988 proposal for 16 storey and 6 storey mixed use buildings of office, retail and residential uses. The density associated with the proposal was 3.8 FSI. The proposal was withdrawn by the applicant.

· UDOZ-90-02: A 1990 proposal to permit a 13 storey 110 unit apartment building containing a bank and health club, and a 5 storey office building. The combined gross floor area was 16,147 square metres resulting in an overall floor space index of 2.59. A July 1992 staff report recommended refusal of the application. The main concern at that time related to excessive density, design, and lack of transportation capacity. Council referred the matter back to staff in order to evaluate a reduced density.

· UDOZ-93-22: The applicant submitted a revised plan in 1993 proposing a 16 storey 175 unit apartment building with a bank and health club. The total gross floor area was 21,611 square metres resulting in a density of 3.5 FSI. A staff report dated October 1993 recommended refusal of the proposal since it did not represent a reduction in density from the previous proposal and staff had concerns regarding height, massing, and site amenities. The report did detail recommendations with respect to use, density, height and design that a revised proposal should satisfy in order that it be considered. These recommendations are reproduced below.

"Density should be closer to 2.0 FSI to be more reflective of policies contained within the Official Plan and in Draft Amendment 377, and to recognize deficiencies with respect to parks and school space. In no case should the overall density exceed 2.5 FSI, subject to meeting the Urban Design criteria set out in Section 2.6 of Draft Amendment 377;

Building height should be limited by increasing building coverage, and "wrapping" building mass along both Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue, to more effectively address both street frontages;

Terracing of building height is encouraged, such that the highest point of the building is focused at the corner of the intersection. Building height should not generally exceed 8 storeys, except that a modest height increase above 8 storeys at the intersection would be acceptable;

A significant retail commercial component at grade is encouraged to address the arterial road frontages and provide animation at the street level;

Surface parking should be minimized to enable increased building coverage, and to create opportunities for landscaped open space areas. In particular, a large open space area should be created at the south end of the site adjacent to the existing tennis courts on the abutting property, providing outdoor amenity space for residents of the building; and

The applicant should submit a revised plan in accordance with the above-noted official plan density and urban design parameters, after which staff will recommend appropriate conditions for approval of a zoning change."

Council deferred the application indefinitely to allow the applicant to meet with staff, the local Councillors and community. The applicant then submitted a revised proposal for a mixed use development consisting of 150 residential units and ground floor commercial uses and has since modified that with the current proposal for 138 units and at grade commercial uses.

Location and Existing Site:

The site is located on the south-west corner of Lawrence Avenue West and Keele Street and has an area of approximately 0.62 hectares. The property is currently developed with a 4-storey office building containing medical and professional offices, a bank and pharmacy.

Lands on all four corners of Lawrence Avenue and Keele Street are designated and zoned for commercial uses. At the south-east corner, occupying a large site, is the North Park shopping plaza containing various retail stores and commercial uses. At the north-east corner is a bank and at the north-west corner is a gas station.

With the exception of the south-east corner, higher density residential uses abut the commercial lands. On the south side of Lawrence Avenue just west of the site are two apartment buildings of 20 and 21 storeys. Directly south of the site are tennis courts followed by a house used as an office and then 3 storey apartments. On the north side of Lawrence Avenue, west of the gas station are two 13 storey apartment buildings. Further north on both the east and west sides of Keele Street are 3 storey apartment buildings. On the north side of Lawrence east of the bank are semi-detached dwellings. Behind the North Park plaza at the south-east corner of Lawrence Avenue and Keele Street are industrial uses with mixed industrial-commercial uses fronting the east side of Keele Street.

Planning Controls

Official Plan:

The site is designated Commercial (COM) in the Official Plan as shown on Schedule "A", which permits office, retail and service commercial uses and some institutional uses. The maximum density is 1.0 FSI, which may be increased to a maximum FSI of 1.5 through rezoning, subject to meeting the Compatibility Criteria set out in Part C.5, Section 2.6.0. Upper floor residential uses are also permitted where they can be easily served by community, recreational and educational facilities. In order to ensure that the commercial function is not displaced, residential uses are only permitted on upper floors.

The applicant has requested a change to the Official Plan designation of this site to Residential Density Four (RD-4) with a site specific exception to permit commercial uses and a density of 2.5 FSI.

Zoning:

The site is zoned C2 (Local Shopping Centre Zone), as shown on Schedule "B", which permits commercial uses and some institutional uses to a maximum gross floor area of 100% of the lot area. Residential uses are not permitted.

The applicant has requested a zoning change to RM6 (Multiple-Family Dwellings Sixth Density Zone) with an exception to permit commercial uses and a density of 2.5 FSI.

Site Plan:

Site Plan approval is required for the proposed development . Prior to the enactment of the Zoning By-law the Director, Community Planning, North District shall have granted Site Plan approval.

Comments from Other Departments

The Technical Services Division, Works and Emergency Services Department advise that they have a number of requirements that the applicant must satisfy which must be reflected in a revised plan, prior to the Site Plan approval. These requirements include the following:

Storm Sewers

Storm drainage from this site shall be drained to the existing Keele Street storm sewer or storm sewer located on easement through the site. The detailed drainage/storm water issues for this application will be addressed by the applicant by the submission of a Storm Water Management Report prior to Site Plan approval.

Sanitary Sewers

The allocation of the Interim Sanitary Trunk capacity for this development is subject to Council approval of this application.

Sidewalks

The applicant is required to extend the existing Keele Street sidewalk through the existing driveway and to regrade the Keele Street boulevard in the area of the driveway to drain towards Keele Street.

Service Connections

The owner is responsible to provide for the installation of the water, sanitary and any necessary storm service connections from the building to the City services at the property line.

Solid Waste and Recycling Collection

Some modification will be required to the design of the proposed curb and median of the garbage collection area prior to the Site Plan approval.

Other Requirements

No encroachment including shoring encroachments are permitted in the easement. Access arrangement appears to be satisfactory in principle, however, the owner has excluded any proposed grading information. The owner must provide this information if the arrangement is to be accepted and also grant the City a 6.0m wide easement which is to be registered on title over the access driveway. (Schedule "F")

The Transportation Services Division, Works and Emergency Services Department advise they have reviewed the proposal and the site plan and have the following comments and requirements.

A Traffic Impact Study prepared by Marshall Macklin Monahan Limited (July, 1998) has determined that the proposal will not have a significant impact on the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Keele Street. They require that the access to Lawrence Avenue West be restricted to right in/right out movements only due to the existing concrete median on Lawrence Avenue. They also identify a number of specific requirements with respect to driveway, driving aisle grades and ramp slopes. Streetscape requirements along Lawrence Avenue and Keele Street must be satisfied and the applicant is to obtain building location, access and streetscape permits prior to the construction of the project. (Schedule "G")

The Policy and Development Division, Economic Culture and Tourism Department has indicated that the proposal falls within the Lawrence West Planning Area which has a surplus of 5.57 hectares of parkland and the Amesbury residential community which has a parkland surplus of 2.17 hectares. The application will be subject to a 2% and 5% cash-in-lieu of parkland dedication payment. Outdoor recreational amenity space should be made a requirement of Site Plan approval and the proposed indoor recreational amenity space should form part of the amending by-law. (Schedule "H")

The North Command of the Fire Services Department advises that the revised plans meet the Fire Department requirements. (Schedule "I")

The Public Health Department, Healthy Environments Division has advised that a landfill site which was closed in 1960 is located within the vicinity of 1415 Lawrence Avenue West. They requested that the applicant undertake a Phase 2 Environment Site Assessment which is to include a report on soil contamination and a Record of Site Conditions. The Public Health Department supports the findings presented in the Angus Environmental Peer review report and has no objections to the proposal provided that the conditions as set out in the recommendations are met. (Schedule "J")

The Toronto District School Board has advised that they do not object to the proposed development. (Schedule "K")

The Toronto Catholic District School Board has advised that Madonna Catholic Secondary School does have permanent facilities available for students emanating from the proposed development. (Schedule "L")

Discussion

Planning Considerations

Land Use and Density

The Official Plan allows for a mix of uses on this site to a maximum FSI of 1.0, and through rezoning to a maximum FSI of 1.5. The commercial policies of the Plan encourage upper floor residential uses on commercially designated lands located within Residential Communities. The policy only permits residential uses on upper floors so as not to displace the commercial uses.

The 1993 staff report refusing a previous application for 3.5 FSI recommended that the density on the site not exceed an overall density of 2.5 FSI and be consistent with the emerging Arterial Corridor Area (ACA) policies contained in OPA 377. The density level of 2.5 FSI requested in this application is generally found only in Arterial Corridor Areas (ACA). ACAs identify areas of potential reurbanization. These areas are generally limited to the North York Centre, specific sub-centres, some arterial roads and in-fill or redevelopment sites.

Potential Reurbanization Areas are subject to the policies contained in Part C.10 of the Official Plan. Part C.10 contains policies for mixed use development related to Arterial Corridor Areas. The objectives of the ACA policies are to achieve a mix of residential, commercial and institutional uses, with commercial uses at greater intensity at major intersections. The density associated with most ACAs is 2.0 FSI which can be increased to 2.5 FSI if sites are located at major intersections and have sufficient depth to ensure that impacts on abutting low density residential uses is minimal.

Although this site has not been identified by Council as a potential area for reurbanization, Part A of the Official Plan contains policies to guide the identification of potential reurbanization areas or individual locations for reurbanization. The subject site meets two of the required conditions in that the location has the potential to accommodate housing or employment uses which have not been foreseen or which cannot be accommodated elsewhere and the physical infrastructure, community services and high frequency transit service is available.

Redevelopment of this site with both residential and commercial uses would be in keeping with the mixed use nature of lands in the vicinity of this intersection A mix of uses promotes animation and vitality and safety in the area, by providing places for people to live, work and interact with others. Mixed residential-commercial uses at this location will enhance the pedestrian environment with commercial uses along the street frontage, and will provide for a more efficient use of the land. Businesses in the area would also be positively affected by more activity, and this in turn, could promote more commercial growth and diversity to better serve the community. Therefore, redevelopment of this site with a mix of land uses is worthy of encouragement.

Part C.10, section 2.3.0 of the Official Plan contains specific policies with respect to development for areas designated Arterial Corridor Areas. Building heights are generally to be from three to six storeys. Additional building height may be considered up to the planned right-of-way width of the arterial road when defining major street intersections and where sites are deep enough to ensure that the impacts of stable residential areas are minimal. The proposed building is to have a building height of 8 storeys or approximately 26 metres and wraps around the Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue intersection in order to define the intersection encouraged by these ACA policies. The planned right-of-way width for Lawrence Avenue is 36 metres and as such the building height satisfies this criteria.

Built form criteria identified in sections 2.62 requires building massing to be supportive of a pedestrian scale and the setbacks, height and massing of new buildings be sympathetic to neighbouring development so that stable residential areas are not affected by shadowing or overview. Building height is to be used to define the intersection. The proposed development in terms of wrap around design and height satisfies these criteria.

Section 2.63 provides criteria with respect to open space and landscaping and emphasizes that public streets are to be a major part of the City's open space component. The comments with respect to landscaping and open space contained in this report will be considered at Site Plan approval.

Community Consultation:

A community consultation meeting was held on February 23, 1998, attended by approximately 70 people. The following summarizes the key issues and concerns that arose from that meeting.

· a 12 storey building was too high;

· loss of many professional services provided in the existing commercial building;

· high traffic levels;

· access conflicts;

· turning movement conflicts;

· drainage; and

· truck traffic of garbage collection area.

The applicant has acknowledged the issues and concerns identified by the community and attempted to address most of them through several revisions to the design of the proposal. The current proposal which is for a 7 and 8 storey residential building with at grade commercial uses reflects a building height that is substantially lower than the 12 storey building that was proposed at the time of the Community Consultation meeting and through the reduction in height has attempted to address the original concerns with respect to shadowing the adjacent properties.

The loss of the many professional services, located in the existing building was considered as an issue. The recommended C4 zoning permits professional and medical offices. The applicant, while indicating that some medical use could be contemplated depending on marketing strategy, cannot guarantee that such uses will be present in the new building. It would be inappropriate to limit the site to professional and medical offices solely for the purpose of ensuring their establishment

Concerns were expressed that the proposal will further increase the high traffic levels along Lawrence Avenue and Keele Street. The Transportation Services Division have reviewed a traffic impact study submitted by the applicant's consultant and are satisfied that the proposal will not have a significant impact on the intersection of Keele and Lawrence.

Concerns were also expressed by the community with respect to access arrangements to the site in that vehicle conflicts would occur with the pedestrian pathway to the adjacent apartment building and with the potential for vehicles to make dangerous U-turns to access the site from Lawrence Avenue. The applicant's latest proposal has been reviewed by the Transportation Services Division who are satisfied with the proposed access arrangements in terms of their operation and safety. The access onto Lawrence Avenue is to be restricted to right-in/right-out movements only, which will help to prevent possible vehicular conflicts.

Other concerns with respect to driveway grades and driveway locations have now been addressed as the proposed driveway on Keele Street will be aligned opposite the existing driveway to the North Park Plaza in order to minimize vehicular conflicts and the driveway grades have been reduced to acceptable standards.

Drainage concerns with the existing property to the west were expressed by the community and will be resolved by the applicant through storm water management measures stipulated by the Technical Services Division's requirements.

The impact of truck traffic and garbage collection is being addressed by locating commercial service areas as far away from adjacent properties as possible and by screening and landscaping measures.

The current development proposal satisfactorily addresses most of the community issues and concerns that were raised that the meeting in February 1998.

Built Form and Height/Urban Design Issues

The application proposes an L-shaped building of 8 storeys with commercial uses at grade along Lawrence Avenue and seven storeys with at grade commercial uses along Keele Street. The 1993 staff report sets out a number of urban design standards to be achieved on this site which are still applicable to the development:

Some of these objectives were based on the emerging Arterial Corridor Area policies which were adopted by Council in May, 1994 and approved by the Ontario Municipal Board in 1996 as OPA 377. The Arterial Corridor Area policies permit a height of 3 to 6 storeys with additional building heights up to the planned right-of-way width of the arterial road, at major street intersections. The ACA policies also include a number of built form principles which include:

· arterial roads should generally have continuous building facades;

· height and massing should be sympathetic to neighbouring development;

· building height should emphasize and define street intersections with maximum height at street intersections; and

· building height and massing should result in reasonable access to sunlight for pedestrians on the public sidewalk.

The design of the latest proposal reflects many of the urban design objectives and recommendations outlined in the 1993 staff report in that it:

· proposes a density of 2.5 FSI;

· the building height has been limited to 8 storeys by increasing building coverage and wrapping building mass along both the Keele Street and Lawrence Avenue street frontages;

· the building height has been terraced so that the highest point is focused on the corner of the intersection;

· a significant retail/commercial component has been provided at grade to address the arterial road frontages and provide animation at the street level;

· surface parking has been minimized to enable increased building coverage and to create opportunities for landscaped open space areas.

The applicant has worked closely with Planning staff to achieve a development based on the design policies of the Arterial Corridor Areas, however, there are still some urban design issues that will still need to be resolved at Site Plan Control.

These issues include the following:

· Grading between the building face and the public right-of-way will need to be landscaped in a single plane and the western wall of the parking garage should not be visible from the street allowance. In addition the slope between the top of the garage and the western property line should have no break.

· Details outlining a stronger landscaping scheme should be provided including the preservation, relocation or replacement of the existing mature junipers and evergreens at the entrance of the building and elsewhere on site.

· The underground parking air shaft at the north-east corner should be screened from public view by landscaping.

· A soil depth of 1.5 metres should be provided over the underground parking garage in order to allow sufficient depth for new tree plantings to obtain maturity.

· The proposed building in terms of it's elevations should consist of three parts ,the commercial base should be expressed on the lower portion of the building ,the main body of the building and an upper element that caps or crowns the building. The design of the corner element will be considered as having prime importance in its grade relationship to the private and public spaces and in the three dimensional or sculptural ,establishment of the building as a landmark of the area at this major intersection.

· . Environmental Site Assessment

The applicant has submitted a Phase 1 and 2 Environmental Assessment report in conjunction with the application prepared by AIMS Consulting Environmental Service (AIMS) dated August 31, 1998 entitled Environmental Site Assessment, The DeMarco Building Property, 1415 Lawrence Avenue West, for V.V. DeMarco Properties Limited. The report which describes the investigation of the potential environmental liabilities associated with the site underwent a peer review by Angus Environmental Limited (AEL). Based on the Phase 1 ESA report, AIMS identified three potential areas of environmental concern. These include:

(a) fill materials located in the south half of the site;

(b) petroleum hydrocarbons contamination located near the existing underground storage tank; and

(c) petroleum hydrocarbons contamination associated with a gas service station located 25m north of the site.

The Angus Environmental Peer Review supports the following recommendations in the AIMS report that need to be considered by the applicant prior to the site being developed for residential use:

1. When the existing building is demolished, the underground storage tank will need to be removed and any soil that is suspected of not complying with MOE criteria, should be set aside pending the results of chemical testing to confirm or refute that it is contaminated;

2. Soil that does not comply with MOE criteria should be treated or disposed off-site;

3. If concerns about chemical vapours increase during excavation, steps should be taken during construction of any building to inhibit the flow of soil vapours into the building or to intercept and vent the vapours before they enter the building.

4. Prior to demolishing the building, abatement of all environmentally hazardous materials such as fluorescent light fixtures (ballasts containing PCBs) and asbestos containing materials should be handled and disposed of in accordance with MOE guidelines.

5. Ground water quality around the underground storage tank should be investigated and analyzed for petroleum hydrocarbons (heavy oils and gas/diesel) and BTEX.

6. The applicant is to investigate the potential migration of contamination from the gas station across the street onto the property via ground water.

The Public Health Department is in concurrence with the recommendations outlined above and is in support of the proposal subject to these requirements being met. The suitability of the site conditions to accommodate the proposed development should be verified by the submission of a record of site condition and acknowledged by the Ministry of the Environment prior to the issuance of any building permits.

Conclusions:

The proposed 8 storey apartment building with ground floor commercial uses is an appropriate use for this site. The applicant has worked with City staff to achieve a development proposal that is both compatible with the adjacent high rise residential uses and one that reflects the objectives of the commercial policies of the Official Plan which encourages mixed use development while maintaining the Commercial designation of the lands. Based on the urban design policies of Arterial Corridor Areas and the design objectives outlined in the 1993 staff report, a building height of 8 storeys is appropriate at this location

This report recommends approval of the proposal subject to the conditions of the commenting departments. The applicant will be required to obtain Site Plan approval prior to the enactment of the by-law.

Contact:

Brian Lambourn
North York Civic Centre
Telephone (416) 395-7135
Fax: (416) 395-7155
e-mail: blambour@toronto.ca

ROB DOLAN
Director, Community Planning
North District

List of Schedules and Appendices

Schedule "A" - Official Plan Map

Schedule "B" - Zoning Map

Schedule "C" - Site Plan

Schedule "D" - Proposed South and Lawrence Avenue Elevations Plan

Schedule "E" - Proposed West and Keele Street Elevations

Schedule "F" - Technical Services Division Comments

Schedule "G" -Transportation Services Division Comments

Schedule "H" -Policy and Development Division Comments

Schedule "I" - North Command, Fire Services Department Comments

Schedule "J" - Healthy Environment Division Comments

Schedule "K" - Toronto District School Board Comments

Schedule "L" - Toronto Catholic District School Board Comments

Schedule "M" - Draft Official Plan Amendment No. 481 and land use map

Schedule "N" - Draft Zoning By-law and schedule "I" to By-law